Tag Archives: pet

For all pet-lovers in the Pittsburgh area, I’ll be speaking from Noon – 2 PM this Sunday (Mother’s Day) at the 2017 PetCon Expo at the Washington County Fairgrounds. My topics are nutrition and integrative medicine. Join me, and bring your mom!

Healthy Pet Products is excited to present, “Paws, Claws, and Laws: Tails of Regulations, Advocacy, and Proper Labeling.” This full day event will feature industry experts who will be discussing the importance of what and how we feed our pets, what it means to be your pet’s advocate, and how to navigate through pet food ingredients. We will explore the benefits of holistic healing, the science behind food as medicine, how pet foods are prepared, and why we must continue as their advocates!

Our all-star lineup features local and national experts in the fields of holistic veterinary medicine, food science, industry regulations, and consumer advocacy:

Stoney was 14 years old when he was carried into my office by his owners. His rear legs had been paralyzed for seven weeks and conventional treatments had not helped. X-rays revealed severe arthritis of his spine but that alone did not explain his condition. Possible causes for his neurologic deficit included a spinal tumor, a ruptured disc, or even a blood clot to the spinal cord. An MRI or myelogram was needed to be sure of what the problem was, but his owners did not think it was in his best interest to put Stoney through those testes. Acupuncture was his last chance.

An aged pet with long standing rear leg paralysis does not warrant a rosy outlook and I was not optimistic about the ability of acupuncture to help him. After hearing about the acupuncture process and the poor prognosis, Stoney’s owners decided that they wanted to give him every chance they could and we proceeded with the treatment with hope in our hearts.

Stoney came to my office for weekly treatments; right on schedule. When his owners carried him in for his eighth session, I told them that I was seeing no improvement and suggested it was time to admit defeat. On the contrary, his owners were encouraged by the fact that he had begun to wag his tail so the treatments continued. You could have picked my jaw off the floor when Stoney walked into my office two treatments later.

We were able to taper his treatments to every three to four weeks and maintain Stoney’s mobility. He enjoyed another three years with his owners until his body finally gave out and we put him to sleep at the age of 17.